Three Minutes
by TStabler
Summary: According to a popular women's magazine, the kind of relationship we'll have with someone is determined within three minutes of meeting him or her. The first three minutes of Olivia Benson's partnership with Elliot Stabler impacted their future, greatly


**A/N: Just a one-shot that popped into my head while I was reading "Cosmopolitan" magazine. If the fact is true, then I imagine the first three minutes of their partnership must have been intense.**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and its characters. This story is the sole property of TStabler©**

The kind of relationship we'll have with someone is determined within three minutes of meeting him or her. This is what was going through Olivia Benson's mind on her first day of a new job. She'd read it in some stupid magazine that also told her that intense situations lead to amazing sex. She tried to shake the mundane thoughts away as she walked toward the scene, looking for the man she was supposed to be meeting. "The one in the suit?" she asked the man next to her.

"Yes," the man replied. "That's Detective Stabler," he said.

Olivia nodded as the man held up the yellow crime scene tape for her. She crawled under it, took a deep breath, and headed over to the incredibly well-built man in the suit standing several feet away from her. "Excuse me," she said, "Elliot Stabler?"

"Yeah?" he said, his voice low, sexy, gravelly. He turned around and Olivia felt all of the breath escape her lungs. She was paralyzed. He had the most incredible blue eyes she'd ever seen. He, too, was beyond speechless. He looked Olivia up and down, trying to shake the uncontrollable urge to hit on her. "Uh, what?" he asked, blinking and clearing his throat.

Olivia held out her hand. "Olivia Benson, I'm your new..."

"Partner," Elliot finished. They said nothing as they let their hands link in a solid, strong shake. The gunshot snapped them out of their mutual daze, and they both pulled out their guns, dropping behind the nearest car.

"Shit," Olivia hissed, ducking just before a bullet hit the window.

"Who the hell is shooting at us?" Elliot yelled over the noise.

Olivia, looking at Elliot for a brief second, said, "Only one way to find out." She moved, staying low to the ground and dodging a bullet, heading toward the building.

"Hey!" Elliot called after her, following her. He caught up to her and pulled her out of the way of a flying bullet. "If you're gonna be my partner, you have to talk to me before you throw yourself into the line of fire," he said, checking her over to make sure she wasn't hit.

Olivia smirked. "I do?" she asked, trying to ignore the way his hands felt on her body.

"Yes," Elliot snapped at her, trying to ignore the way her body felt in his hands.

"Okay, Elliot, can we please go find out who's shooting at us?" Olivia asked, rolling her eyes.

Elliot, trying not to laugh at her, said, "Yeah, sure. Lead the way, Benson." He smirked as she crouched and slid behind the car, heading into the building. They didn't notice, but they were walking at the same speed, in perfect sync.

"Hey," Olivia whispered. Elliot turned to her and she jerked her head toward a door to her left, slightly opened. Elliot stepped closer to her, they both raised their guns. Olivia nodded at Elliot once and he pushed the door open all the way. They both aimed.

"NYPD," they said together. They glanced at each other, slightly smirking, then eyed the man with the gun.

"Drop it," Olivia demanded.

"Now," Elliot ordered.

The man turned, grinning. He aimed the gun at Elliot, but before he could pull the trigger, a shot rang out. He dropped to the floor, his hands in the air, screaming as he felt the pain of the bullet that had ripped through his leg.

Elliot ran over to get the gun and cuff him, looking at Olivia. "Nice shot," he said.

Olivia nodded and holstered her gun as Elliot read the man his rights. "Thanks," she said. They led him out, back down the stairs to the waiting group of officers. They handed their perp off to a uniformed officer, then Olivia's eyes widened. "The girl," she said, turning to Elliot.

"We got her out before you even got here," Elliot assured his partner. He looked at his watch and shook his head, laughing as they walked back under the tape, figuring the other officers had it covered. "Man, you've been my partner for two minutes, and we've already saved each other's lives," he said, looking at her.

Olivia chuckled. "I think we should have started smaller," she said. "Like you telling me about your wife and kids over a burger and a beer."

"How did you know I had a wife and kids?" Elliot asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Ring," Olivia said, nodding toward his hand. "And I can tell just by looking at you...you've got kids." She snapped her eyes up, away from his pants, and met his gaze. "No woman in her right mind would..." she shook her head and stopped talking. "How many?" she asked.

Elliot furrowed his brow. "What were you gonna say?" he asked, folding his arms.

"Forget it," Olivia said, walking toward her car, shaking her head. "How many kids do you have?" she asked again.

"Four," Elliot said. "Now what wouldn't any woman in her right mind do?" he asked, getting into the passenger seat of the sedan.

Olivia sighed as she got behind the wheel. "Say no to you," she said. "Look at you! Elliot, you're hot. Your wife probably wakes up praying for the day to go faster so she can get home and into bed with you." She put the key into the ignition then looked at him. "And you're gonna forget I said that," she said with a smirk.

Elliot chuckled and shook his head. "No, I'm not," he said. "So is there a Mister Benson? I don't see a ring on your finger."

"Yeah, no," Olivia said. "I'm not married," she said, shaking her head.

"Boyfriend?" Elliot asked, narrowing his eyes.

Olivia laughed. "You should consider a career in stand-up comedy," she said.

"Oh," Elliot said, tilting his head, "Girlfriend?"

"No!" Olivia shouted, laughing. "I'm straight! I'm just...not good with relationships. I have trust issues, and I don't really know how to..." she paused, sighing. "Never mind."

"You keep doing that," Elliot said. "You stop talking mid-sentence, and you tell me to forget it. Do you know how much that pisses me off?"

Olivia rolled her eyes and said, "Seeing that I've only known you for three minutes, no. I don't. Why don't you tell me?"

"So fucking much!" Elliot shouted. "Just finish your sentence, Benson. What were you gonna say?" he asked, sounding snippy.

Olivia put her hands on the wheel, then looked at Elliot. "I was gonna say, I don't really know what I'm doing in relationships. Things like love, and trust, they don't come easily to me because I never had anyone in my life I could do either with. I never knew my father and my mother is a drunk. A very angry drunk, who shouldn't have even had me. I stopped talking because I figured it would be getting too personal. It would be revealing too much for knowing you for three fucking minutes!"

"Four," Elliot whispered.

"Whatever," Olivia spat.

Elliot ran a hand through his hair. "I'm...I'm sorry, I guess...I shouldn't have pushed you. Olivia," he said, catching her eyes. "I promise you, I will never give you a reason not to trust me. I think we both just proved that we can trust each other, so when you're ready to talk, I'm ready to listen. About anything. I promise."

Olivia looked at him. "Yeah," she said. "We'll see." She started the car and drove off, hoping he could keep that promise.

* * *

The alarm buzzed in her ear, and she groaned. She shot out a hand and slapped the button, shutting it off. She threw the blankets off and swung her legs over the side, getting out of bed. She walked, eyes closed, toward the bathroom. "Ow, damn it," she hissed, looking down at the object she'd just tripped over. She picked up the brown, men's dress shoe, looked at it, and tossed it to the side. "Slob," she scoffed.

She walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. "Jesus. That's a lovely shade of purple," she said, gingerly touching the angry bruise on her cheek.

"You've always looked good in purple," a man said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her.

Olivia chuckled. "Hey, I took this punch for you last night, so you have to be nice to me today."

"When am I not nice to you?" he asked, kissing her bare shoulders.

"Do you want a chronological list of moments, or just a sweeping generalization?" Olivia asked, turning in his arms.

He looked at her and tilted his head. "You, Olivia Benson, are a brat."

Olivia pecked his lips, giving him a soft kiss, and said, "I know I am. But you're more of one. You have been since the moment we met. Nice to see some things haven't changed in the last nine years."

He laughed and brushed his fingers through her hair. "Nothing's changed at all since those first couple of minutes, when we just sprung into action. We instantly had each other's backs, saved each other's lives. We were instant partners, baby. Nothing's different." He attached his lips to her neck as his fingers gripped her sides, tickling her.

"Some things have changed, El," Olivia said, chuckling.

"Like what, Liv," Elliot asked, kissing her collar bone, his tongue sweeping over her skin in swirls.

Olivia moaned softly and said, "Your ring came off, you no longer have a wife, and we are definitely more than just partners."

Elliot brought his hands from around her waist to the front of her night shirt, sliding under the cotton and sweeping his thumbs over her nipples. "We were checking each other out, Benson. Don't even try to deny it. You wanted me then, and you want me now."

"Your ego hasn't gotten any smaller," Olivia joked, gasping at his touch. She trailed her hands down his chest, slipped them into his flannel pants, and stroked his already hard, throbbing, shaft. "Neither has this," Olivia quipped, moaning.

"No, when I'm with you, they both just get bigger," Elliot mumbled as his lips crashed into hers.

"Christ, El," Olivia gasped. "Fucking gonna be late for work," she mumbled. She took one hand out of his pants, leaned over, fumbling to find the knobs for the water in the shower, then said, "Get in."

Elliot pushed down his pants, pulled off her silk nightie and said, "After you."

Olivia moved, pulling him into the shower, under the hot water. As they bathed and loved each other, she smiled, thinking about how right this felt. How he had changed her life, how he earned her trust, and her love, just like he promised he would. It only took him three minutes, but it took her nine years to admit it. She moaned as his fingers worked their magic, making her feel more alive than she'd ever felt, and she closed her eyes, moaning his name. She chuckled softly then, remembering the useless facts she'd learned before work that day, nine years ago, and how Elliot had proved them both right. "I love you." she whispered to him, feeling the water run over their joined bodies.

Elliot pulled back from her, looked her in the eyes, and said, "I love you, too, baby." He moved, pressing into her, and asked, "Do you know how long it took me to fall in love with you?"

Olivia moaned, kissed him, and nodded. She pressed her lips to his neck and whispered, "Three minutes."

**A/N: I can usually tell how I will get along with a person within three minutes. Can't you?**


End file.
